SkidNP Hacker Group Plots Christmas Day Takedown of Minecraft And Steam Game Servers

Last Christmas, so-called hackers at Lizard Squad decided to toy with the emotions of millions. At a time when many people would have been hooking up a brand-new game console (or loading up a new game), both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live were knocked offline, thanks to an effective DDoS attack. Considering the fact that the same group decided to take PSN down on Black Friday a few weeks ago, it seems the attackers haven't grown bored. With Christmas right around the corner, we can't help but wonder what will happen next.

So far, there have been no visible threats on PSN or XBL, but Steam and Minecraft are being targeted by a new group desperate for attention. This one goes by the name of SkidNP, and it promises to take down both services over the holiday.

Image used by SkidNP to deface a competitor's website

If you're for one minute thinking that this is going to be a major inconvenience, don't fret: the group assures us that this is being done for our own good. "We will be hitting them because we are trying to make services like them [prevent] these sort of attacks, so they get stronger.", a group spokesman said.

Some might think that it's a little nonsensical to cause an issue to help prevent it, but it's apparent this group doesn't see things the same way. The spokesperson goes on to say that "Anyone with a $5 booter can take down Xbox if they have the right IP."

That latter part could be true to an extent, and that's what's a little concerning. After last Christmas' downtime put a major damper on some folks' holidays, we'd hope that both Sony and Microsoft will have put considerable effort into network upgrades to negate whatever attacks could hit it.

Let's hope that this is nothing more than just cheap talk, or in the worst case, if there are attacks, they won't be noticed.